http://media.is4si-2017.org/2017/06/Photo-12-06-2017-VEPA-small.jpg474632IS4SI-2017http://media.is4si-2017.org/2016/10/is4si-logo.jpgIS4SI-20172017-06-23 08:47:102017-07-15 06:19:53Gothenburg Summit in Pictures and in Words

Gothenburg summit is approaching. Practicalities about Registration, Travel, Hotels, Venue (including the map) and information about Gothenburg will be found under http://is4si-2017.org/practical-information/

We will have computers in each of the rooms so you can bring your presentation on the USB memory stick.

Each meeting of the International Society for Information Studies addresses a specific complex of issues, as we are trying to orient focus of variety of communities under umbrella of the society, towards a common theme and try to discuss and exchange thoughts across disciplinary borders. The previous meeting in Vienna in 2015 went under the motto Information Society at the crossroads, while in 2013, in Moscow, the topic was Perspectives of Information in Global Education as a new Approach for the 21st century. 2010 conference in Beijing was devoted to Philosophy of Information and Information Science. At that occasion, variety of loosely bound associations of research communities founded officially the International Society for Information Studies. However, history of associations between diverse communities and individual scholars within information studies is much older than that. Foundations of Information Science, one of our core communities, held its first conference in Madrid, Spain, as early as July 11-15, 1994 – thus more than 20 years ago. This community is still going strong, presenting one of the characteristic constants that in different constellations re-appear year after year.

The stage for the Gothenburg summit is set by the theme of Digitalisation for sustainable society, in light of information, computation and cognition. As our previous meetings, the summit 2017 reflects the moment we live in – a nascent movement of digitalization that has started to radically change our society, globally, in literally all its aspects. It is based on the computing technology (in all its forms, digital and analog, that all now go under the name “digital”), which in its turn is based on information and data processing, which all goes back to cognition and intelligence of a cognizing agent in order to acquire meaning. Digitalization has a potential to fundamentally transform the way we live, our whole civilization and our identities. Often mentioned definition from the Business dictionary: Digitalization is integration of digital technologies into everyday life by the digitization of everything that can be digitised – does not tell it all. Digitization as transformation of everything into digital data is only part of the story, telling that libraries will be digitized and turned into formats easy to process by computers. Sensors of various kinds, controlling variety of processes, from traffic control to health care, education, entertainment, production, monetary flows and government will produce increasing amounts of data suitable for further processing and analytics.

During digitalisation data will be increasingly collected, communicated/exchanged and analyzed in cognitive and intelligent computational ways. We talk about cognitive computing and deep learning as two central and hugely promising fields. Data are atoms of information that constitute intricate web of relationships.

Communities of International Society for Information studies are dedicated to the study of information in its many forms and through variety of approaches. The summit in Gothenburg will provide both an opportunity to meet in plenum addressing “the big picture” by keynote speakers and plenary panels, and exchange ideas about specific topics of interest in number of parallel sessions. We are looking forward to attend a rich programme of Gothenburg summit, and to meet across disciplinary and specialist borders, to learn from each other and to commonly address opportunities and challenges of the data-dirven, information-based era.

In the light of an envisioned Internet of Things and Ambient Intelligence the concepts of the Factory of the Future of the eighties of the last century have been overhauled. Industry 4.0 is the new buzzword. It depicts the kernel of current digitalisation programmes in a globalising world.

The next summit of the International Society for Information Studies is about digitalisation from a trans-disciplinary perspective. From such a perspective the relationship between technology and society needs to be addressed.

We did so already at our first summit in Vienna 2015. Have a look at our book “The Future Information Society – Social and Technological Problems”, one of two edited volumes with contributions revolving around topics discussed there (see here).

Why is that important? Because the digital revolution needs to be shaped according to the humane values of a global sustainable information society, that is, according to a peaceful, environmentally sound and socially and economically just and inclusive world society.

After the latest “eupinions” study of the Bertelsmann Stiftung on public opinion and the populist vote in Europe (see here), low-income, low-level-education and aged people – who do not benefit from globalisation but are left behind – are more likely to fall prey to the populism of far right parties because of fear of the future. In the public discourse, there seems to be as much fear about robots killing jobs as about migrants scrounging social welfare.

If technological progress will not be embedded in social progress, the swing to the right will be facilitated. And let me add a personal note: I’m Austrian and I know what I’m talking of.

Rather unnoticed from international media an event took place recently in Vienna. The leaders of the Social Democratic parties as well as trade unions of Sweden – Stefan Löfven who is prime minister and Karl-Petter Thorwaldson –, of Germany – Sigmar Gabriel who is vice chancellor and Reiner Hoffmann – and of Austria – Christian Kern who is chancellor and Erich Foglar – met in Vienna. They presented a so-called European Pact for Social Progress “to win back people’s trust” (see here): “It is time for Europe to change the course.” Point 9 of 10 is about “Digitalization and the future of work”: “The EU need to create an agenda that turns the digital driven change into a process that empowers workers and citizens and increases social cohesion and inclusiveness in the European social model.”

I feel it is our duty as academics, as citizens, as world citizens, to support initiatives like that – not only in Europe but anywhere. The Gothenburg summit will be a place where we can deliberate upon how science can meet social needs.

BCSSS Fellow Felix Tretter who organised the “homo informaticus” track on the last Summit is to give the introductory talk at the Akademie für Politik und Zeitgeschehen of the Bavarian Hanns Seidel Stiftung. The experts talks on 15 March 2016 are held under the same label. They address the Janus-faced Information and Communication Technologies of our time and the need to design them ethically.

The ISIS Special Interest Group “Emergent Systems, Information and Society” will have its second meeting in the framework of the BCSSS emcsr avantgarde. The international group which is a joint group together with the Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science and the Leibniz Sozietät der Wissenschaften will organise a satellite workshop on “Systems of Systems”.

“Systems of Systems” is a research area in which loosely-coupled heterogeneous systems and their emergent behaviour are studied. The concept is applied in several fields like the military sector, systems engineering, or organisational learning. The aim of the half-day workshop is to critically discuss the theoretical foundations of the concept and to analyse implications it might have for different fields of application.

The International Society for Information Studies is Co-Organiser of the emcsr avantgarde 2016 in Vienna.Vienna, March 30th to April 1 st

This event focuses primarily on the promotion of young scientists. The broad field of information studies is included in the list of possible topics. The Bertalanffy Center for the Study of Systems Science launches a contest for the Ludwig von Bertalanffy Young Scientist Award in the framework of the European Meetings on Cybernetics and Systems Research (emcsr) held every 2 years in Vienna.

http://media.is4si-2017.org/2016/10/is4si-logo.jpg00IS4SI-2017http://media.is4si-2017.org/2016/10/is4si-logo.jpgIS4SI-20172016-01-26 06:53:452016-12-27 15:12:52FutureVision?! Which life do we want? Vienna, 30 March – 1 April, 2016

The Leibniz-Sozietät der Wissenschaften zu Berlin e.V. (LS) invites the group “Emergent Systems, Information and Society” to present itself at a one-day colloquium of their two classes (Natur- und Technikwissenschaften; Sozial- und Geisteswissenschaften). That group was founded at the Summit 2015 as joint endeavour of the Arbeitskreis of the LS, the Research Group of the BCSSS and the Special Interest Group (SIG) of ISIS. The ISIS board confirmed only recently the establishment of that SIG. Its Chair is Wolfgang Hofkirchner, Co-Chair Hans-Jörg Kreowski, Secretary Rainer E. Zimmermann. Interested faculty is welcome to join the group.Read more

Gordana Dodig-Crnkovic, the new President of IS4SI, will visit Vienna and participate in her role as Vice-Dean for doctoral education at the Department of Applied Information Technology at Chalmers University, Gothenburg, in the Workshop for Deans, Department Chairs and Research Directors at the 11th European Computer Science Summit (ECSS 2015).

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